Question

The compound eye of an insect
A) Forms coloured images
B) Detects only the intensity and direction of light
C) Detects only infrared light
D) Forms only black and white images

Answer 1

Hint: Insects are the largest group of organisms under the phylum Arthropod. They are considered to be the most diverse group of organisms found in almost all environments.

Complete answer:
Most insects hatch from eggs and undergo a four stage metamorphosis to finally develop into the adult form. They have a chitinous exoskeleton and a three part body made up of head, thorax and abdomen. They also contain three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes and one pair of antennae. Here we are interested in the compound eyes and its function. The compound eye is the visual organ which consists of several parts. These include cornea, lens and photoreceptor cells that can distinguish brightness and colour. The compound eye is made up of thousands of units of ommatidia which serves as a visual receptor, they provide the brain with a picture element which the brain transforms into an image. Compound eyes have poor image resolution compared to single aperture lenses. But they can detect fast movement with great precision and can also form coloured images.

Hence the correct answer is option (A) Forms coloured images.

Note:The compound eyes are thus of importance to the insects since they can distinguish coloured images and also detect motion that helps the insects to get an idea of their environment with respect to available food and predators and act accordingly.